Changed
by Rose
PART 3
"Hey, Motoki. School out yet?" Mamoru walked
into the arcade for the second time that day. All
day, at the hospital, his thoughts centered on the
blonde girl. Funny, most girls most have been half
scared out of their wits if a man had came up and
offered them a ride. And again when he approached
them for the second time.
Usagi hadn't been scared. She had been ready
to fight.
"Almost." Motoki answered. He opened his
mouth to say something, but was cut off by a faint
ringing sound.
"There's the bell. Wait for it. In about ten
minutes, half the student popualtion of Juuban will
come crowding in here." He said.
"Do you think she'll come?" He asked.
"Wow, you're really stuck on this girl. You
like her, ne?"
"Not that way, Motoki. Get your head out of
the gutter. I'm just worried about her."
"Uh-huh."
"I am!"
"Sure."
"Bite me."
"Here they come." Motki motioned to the door
as the streets were suddenly filled with student.
walking, talking, laughing.
****************************
"Ami, Rei said she'd meet us here." Usagi
motioned to the arcade. During her lunch break, she
had gone into the bathroom and put her odangos back
up.
She missed them.
"Okay. Come on, let's get a table before
they're taken." Ami smiled, and pulled Usagi into
the arcade.
"Geez! Slow down! You're going to break me."
Usagi whined.
"Come on. If you move around, maybe your cut
will heal."
"Or maybe it'll kill me." Usagi sat down at a
booth, Ami across from her. "Dammit, it hurts. I
never thought I'd be such a baby, but it hurts. I
don;t mean 'Oh, mommy, the beetle bit me' hurts, I
mean, 'Oh mommy, that gun just blew off my arm'
hurts."
Ami laughed. "You should be a comedian,
Usagi."
"Get real. What's there to laugh at.
Everywhere I go, I see Beryl. Beryl Beryl Beryl."
Over at the bar, Motoki pointed to Usagi.
"That's Usagi." He said.
"That's her." Mamoru answered. She had her
hair put up, but it was most definatly her. "And
that girl's the one that was with her this
morning."
"Usagi got into a fight. I can't picture
that." Motoki shook his head. "I've watched her.
She'd come in here, play some games, order a shake,
and go out. Always smiling."
"Well, she wasn't smiling last night. She
looked like she was ready to kill."
"How strange." Motoki murmured.
"And there's that girl who brough her into
the hospital." Mamoru pointed to a girl who had
just walked in and sat down with Usagi and her
friend.
"Rei, we've got problems. I ran into that
doctor that stitched me up. He not only recognized
me, but now he knows my NAME." Usagi put her head
down on the table.
"Oh, no." Rei muttered.
"Yeah. You know, he'd be cute if he wasn't
stalking Usagi." Ami said thoughtfully.
"Stalking?" Usagi and Rei asked at the same
time.
"Yeah, he's right over there." Ami said,
pointing at Mamoru, who was talking with Motoki.
"Shit. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Usagi
asked, banging her head aginst the table.
"I thought you noticed."
"*sigh* How am I supposed to notice when my
back's to him?"
"Okay. He can't exactly do anything to us,
nor can he prove our names or that we were even at
the hospital." Rei said, calm. "So, we're in the
clear. And if he does prove to be a threat, we can
*ahem* dispose of him."
"Rei!" Ami gasped.
"Ami-chan, this is a war where the enemy has
the upper hand. We can take no chances." Rei
explained.
"You've got a point, Rei. Ami, watch him."
Usagi said, staring at the table.
"Oh, you'll be able to do that." Ami said,
still in her dreamland.
"Huh?"
"He's coming over here, with that cute guy
from the counter. Motoki?"
Usagi reached over and grabbed Ami's collar,
jerking her out of dreamland.
"What?!" She croaked.
"Oh, no." Rei murmured. "Will anyone mind if
I duck underneath the table?"
"Hello, Usagi-chan." Motoki said. "Can I sit
down?"
"Why not?" Usagi moaned, knowing well that
Mamoru would probably sit down too. Ami scooted
over to make room for the two guys.
"Heh heh." Rei looked away.
"What do you want *now*, Mamoru-san?" Usagi
kept her head on the table, not bothering to look
up.
"To prove to Motoki it was you at the
hospital."
"Great. Listen to me. Go away." Usagi mumbled
into the table.
"Come on, Odango Atama."
"What. Did. You. Call. Me?" Usagi sat up.
"Odango Atama. Because of your hair." he
grined.
"Hey, dude! The TV just went on, all by
itself!!" A guy's voice, from in the back, yelled.
Motoki and Mamoru spun around. Sure enough, the TV
was on.
Freaky.
Jedite, one of the top generals of Beryl's
army, appeared on the screen. Usagi quickly pulled
her buns out. She didn't need to look like Sailor
Moon.
"THIS IS A WARNING TO THE THREE GIRLS THAT
ARE IMPERSONATING WARRIORS. IF YOU CONTINUE TO KILL
OUR SOLDIERS, I WILL COME AFTER YOU." He said.
Usagi, Rei and Ami were on full alert.
"This is bull." Rei whispered. "Why the hell
would anyone be scared of him?" The TV flickered
out.
"Girls? They're warning girls?" Mamoru asked.
Motoki nodded.
"It was on the news. Three girls wearing
sailor fukus broke up a raid. They killed the youma
and the soldiers, saving the people. The wife said
they shot ice and magic out of their hands. I
thought it was a publicity stunt, but not if the
general's are investigating it."
"We've got to go, guys. Seeya." Rei helped
Usagi up. Motoki and Mamoru got up to let Ami out.
***********************
Dammit, I knew she'd be freaked. But a
*general*?!" Luna paced back and forth. "This is
bad. They know about how how you are. They'll send
youma to attack the schools to weed you out.
"No matter what, do *NOT* henshin in front of
anyone other than yourselves." Luna decided. They
were gathered at Rei's temple, because Usagi had a
little brother that might spy on them, and Ami's
house was probably bugged, as her mother was a
doctor and a scientist.
They hoped not.
"Okay. So, what if someone figures it out?"
Ami asked.
"Well, there is a disguise field that
protects you from cameras and videos, etc. The
magic that is associated with your fukus will keep
people from guessing. So, unless you henshin in
front of someone or tell them, you should be
realitivly safe. Unless, it's another senshi.
Senshi are able to see through disguises." Luna
explained. Ami nodded, while typing on her computer
Luna had just given her.
"So, we're okay, unless one of us goofs."
Usagi concluded. "But a general? Jedite, too. He's
probably the coldest man in the universe."
"I think he's kinda cute." Rei said, while
staring into the fire.
"Are you crazy?" Usagi and Luna asked at the
same time.
"I don't know. I'm listening to a talking cat
who is talking about magic and telling us not to
turn into super heroines who shoot fire and ice and
whatever out of their hands to kill creatures that
look like DNA mistakes. Am I crazy? I dunno. I'll
have to ask the ceiling. It usually has helpful
advise." She said, smiling.
"She's one for the looney bin." Usagi
whispered.
"What about Mamoru? If they go around asking
about anyone who was injured, because you spilled a
lot of blood in there, Usagi-chan, he'll say, 'Oh,
yeah. A girl who looks like Sailor Moon came in
here bleeding half to death. He knows your name."
Ami asked.
"We could kill him." Usagi said thoughtfully.
"But a cold-blooded murder like that is too Nega-
verse-ish for me."
"Mercury could drown him." Rei suggested.
"I would not. You've got fire. You toast
him."
"No one's going to drown or cook anyone."
Luna sighed, and did a backflip. A green henshin
wand fell to the floor.
"What's that?" Rei asked.
"This is Sailor Jupiter's henshin stick. We
must find her. Usagi, sice you're the princess, I
bet you could sense her. Just reach out, during the
day where-ever, and if you feel something, it's
probably her, or another senshi. And if Rei or
Ami's not around, you just have to pin-point the
source. Then, sorta, I dunno, try to befriend her.
Find out her name. I can take it from there." The
henshin wand disappeared.
"So, we're looking for all the planets. What
about Earth, Venus, and Saturn, and all the others,
Luna?" Ami asked.
"There is no senshi of Earth. Artemis is in
England, looking for any other senshi he can find.
But the outer senshi are different. And, besides
that, we cannot access their wands anymore, which
means there is a good chance they have been
awakened."
"How could they awaken without you or that
other cat telling them and giving them their
henshin wands?" Rei asked. Usagi was listening, an
interested look on her face.
"Well, in rare cases, they awaken themselves.
The sub-conscious will give them dreams of their
past selves, and the henshin wand would appear. If
they took it, the memories would be returned.
"Or, Sailor Pluto could have done it, if she
felt there was need. Sailor Pluto is an immortal
senshi, basicly. She can see into the futre and
past." Luna said. "But she never interferes with
the flows. So the chance of her awakening a senshi
directly are slim."
"Oh." Usagi said. "That's funny. I had a
dream with a woman in a senshi fuku in it. That's
what made me think something was up. She said she
thought she would make things better, and
apologized. I got the impression she was a ghost.
She said, and I quote, Beware of the Darkness."
"Beware of the darkness." Rei closed her eyes
and chanted, over and over.
The fire blazed up, almost touching the high
ceiling. Rei's eyes flew open, pupils dialated. She
stared into the flames, as they continued to lick
at the air, seemingly rising higher.
"Rei-chan! Wake up!" Ami shrieked. Usagi just
watched the flames, trying to see what Rei saw. The
fire died down. Rei jumped up, startled.
"Rei! Rei! What did you see?" Luna demanded.
"I saw a woman. She said the same thing,
Beware the darkness, but she also said that the
shadows are strong. We must fight as one.
"She also told me that we must go to the
threater day after tomorrow."
************************
"This would be much easier if Beryl didn't
have control." Usagi moaned. "I don't want to go to
the theater tomorrow. It's probably swarming with
soldiers. Why the theater, anyway? The youma don't
go there. What so special about the theater?"
Dammit, if only air could talk.
"Maybe it's not the theater." An idea dawned
on her. She grabbed her jacket, scrawled out a
hasty note for her mother and Luna, and ran off,
grabbing her locket on the way out.
Who knows when you may need to kick butt?
She ran almost the whole way, but had to slow
down as she approached it; she side was beginning
to hurt again.
It was a bit strange, how fast they healed.
Maybe it had something to do with them being
senshi. But all her wound was now was a slight
scratch/scab thing. The stitches had begun to
disappear, so Usagi knew it was getting better.
The theater.
'Okay, girl. Look around for anything the
Nega-verse might want.' She instructed herself. She
wander around the street, gazing in the windows of
various shops, until she hit a curious one.
"Sarik Konik." She read aloud.
"Oh, yes! It's a very healing place to be." A
woman, who had seemingly popped out of no where,
said. "It heals your karma, makes you all peaced
out, ya know? It's a whole new you."
"No, thank you." A dark, pitted feeling in
the bottom of her stomach made her uneasy. "I have
to be home in a few, see you!" She ran off a ways
and stopped. She pulled out her communicator.
"Rei here. Sup?"
"Ami here. What's wrong, Usagi?"
"Guys, it's not the theater. It's a shop
about half a block away from that. I'm at it right
now, should we do something or wait until
tomorrow?"
"Are you sure?" Rei was sceptical.
"Yes, I'm positive."
"Okay. Um, Ami? I think she sould go on
ahead, and we'll get there ASAP."
"That's okay with me." Ami said.
"Alright. Usa out." She put up her
communicator. Just as she was holding up her
locket, a hand clamped down on her shoulder.
"Odango-chan. Sup?"
"Mamoru! Let me go!" She twisted from his
grasp, hiding the locket behind her back. "I'm
busy."
"Sure you are." he said.
"Go away!" She ran away, down the street and
around the corner, and then she ducked into the
alley way.
"MOON SILVER POWER MAKE UP!" She shouted,
before he could catch up to her. She ran back
retracing her steps, scaring and freaking out a lot
of people, Mamoru included.
"It's that girl from the news." he said
aloud. A tingling sensation in the back of his head
sent shivers down his back. He felt the urge to
run, and even though he tried to resist it, his
feet moved as though they were their own.
A magical aura appeared around him...
********************
"It's that girl."
"The one the generals are after."
"YOU GO GIRL!"
"Catch her! She's worth millions."
"Let her go! She'll save us all."
"Hush, Robert. Do you want to be killed?" A
chorus of voices rang out, as she ran by. Mamoru
had detained her, made her loose time.
Time was very precious.
"Alright, you disgusting piece of Nega-
trash." She opposed the woman who had tried to get
her to go in the shop. "How dare you use tricks to
steal energy. A pretty soldier in a sailor suit, I
am Sailor Moon! I punish you in the name of moon!"
"Oh, what have we here? Jedite will love your
head, deary. On a platter!" The woman twisted and
snarled. A flash of dark light hid her from the
view of the crowd.
A youma, fierce and snarling, now stood not
even four meters away from Sailor Moon, who didn't
flinch.
'Come on, senshi. This one's a lot bigger
than the one's on that raid. It's almost like this
was...'
"A trap." She said aloud.
"Oh, goodie. The sap has a brain. How
surprising." It growled.
"Of course I do." Sailor Moon said simply,
taking out her staff. She struck it into the
ground, stalling. "You're going to die. Why don't
you give up and just go back to your 'Queen', and
tell her about me? She'll reward you if you can
give her a description, you know."
A greedy glint appeared in the youma's eye.
For a second, she thought the youma was really
going to go away.
"But a bigger reward shall come if I bring in
your dead body!" It howled.
"Oh, shit." She dodged, as it flew at her.
Dammit, just when you think Luck is on your side...
"WORLD SHAKING!" A ball of yellow energy
zoomed past Sailor Moon and rammed into the youma,
throwing it through the glass of the store.
Ouch.
Two Sailor Senshi, one with yellow bows and a
blue skirt, the other with greenish bows and a dark
blue-green skirt, came up on either side of Sailor
Moon.
"Good. Thanx for the help." Sailor Moon said
gratefully. "You're the outer senshi."
"Right, princess. Pluto has told us about
your situation. I am Sailor Neptune, and this is
Sailor Uranus."
"Princess." Uranus said shortly. Her eyes
never left the youma. At that moment, two things
were on her mind. Kill the youma. Protect the
princess.
"I'm Sailor Moon, please."
"DEEP SUBMERGE!" Neptune yelled, throwing the
youma back yet again after it tried to crawl over
the broken glass to resume it's fight.
"Break up, both sides at once." Uranus said
to her partner. She nodded, and they sprang up in
the air. Without warning, the youma jumped out of
the glass, heading for the one Beryl had ordered
must be killed, at any cost.
A rose blocked it's path.
"MOON LOVELY RAINBOW KISS!" Sh shouted,
taking the chance while the youma pondered over the
razor sharp rose immbedded in the pavement.
It exploded in dust just as Mars and Mercury
made the scene.
************************
A woman, leaning on a key, watched a large
mirror in front of her, worry etched into her face.
"Dammit, it's all screwed up, all happening
too fast." She whispered. "That's not right. But
they needed help, and Jupiter is not ready to
awake, and Venus is on her way. Saturn should only
be awoken in case of extreme emergency. I am not
allowed to fight unless the situation grows more
dire. Sailor Moon is remembering all, much too
fast. Their attacks are stronger than what it
should be. Tuxedo Kamen is not the way he was
supposed to be. Beryl has control." She ran through
the list of her problems.
And there was the problem of time.
Since it was so messed up, she ould only see
about an hour into the future, correctly.
An hour wasn;t enough.
She was Sailor Pluto, the hundredth link in a
chain that would be miles long. Her real name was
Setsuna Meioh.
The moment she picked up the staff she new it
was wrong.
It would tale a miracle to fix it.
And when you needed a miracle, you called on
a lunarian.
*************************
"Who threw that rose?" Uranus demanded, after
making absolutely sure Sailor Moon was okay.
"It came from up there." A little boy pointed
to the roof of a buolding, where a man in a tuxedo
and cape, with a mask and a ridiculous hat was
standing. He gave a little wave and disapeared.
"Dammit." Sailor Moon groaned, as she felt
her side bleeding again. She must have ripped it
open when she fired her attack.
"Oh, geez. Come on, Sailor Moon, before the
soldiers get here." Mars whispered.
"What's wrong? Neptune asked.
"She's hurt." Mercury explained. "Her side
waas ripped open by a youma."
"Oh." In one swift motion, Sailor Moon was in
Uranus's arms. "Let's go." She said, ignoring the
fact red was beginning to seep through the bodice
of the fuku. They ran off just as more youma began
to approach. Mars and Neptune threw their attacks
at them. In order to keep them from following,
Mercury used some of her magic to cast a fog. They
ran, Uranus going just as fast, or maybe faster
than, the others.
"We're far enough." Neptune gasped, after a
very longer time. She and Uranus weren't even
breathing hard. Mercury and Mars were a different
story.
"Dammit." Sailor Moon repeated. She
dehenshined after Uranus set her down. She
inspected her cut.
"It just tore open a little. Damn nerves."
She murmured.
"So, you're senshi too." Mercury said.
"I should hope so." Neptune said, powering
down in a flash of light.
"I know you... you're Kaioh Michiru." Usagi
said, smiling. "And you're Tenoh Haruka." She said
to the powered down Uranus.
"Darnit, Michi-chan. There *is* a person
smarter than me." Haruka pouted.
"Her ego's very delicate." Michiru said in
mock concern.
"Okay, we've got help. That just leave's one
question."
"What's that, Rei-chan?" Ami asked.
"Who was that masked man?"
***************************************************
There's part three. Hope you liked! Feedback, ppl,
feedback.
-Rose